[JovenMaria] Never judge a book by its cover [bloodbitten]

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Minami couldn't help but giggle at the comment, one of her friends said about the jerk they encounter at the arcade ten minutes ago. They had been at the arcade playing one of the games, enjoying their first day of summer break, when said jerk just push her friend out of the way and started playing with it. However, before her friend got in any trouble her other friends decided it was best to leave. That is the reason, why they she suddenly found herself walking through town with nothing to do but to listen to her friend complaining. "That jerk...You guys should have let me give him a few..." However, before her friend could finish his sentence they decided to go into the library.

Once inside, they looked around for a bit but after turning on a corner, all her friends halted in their steps. "Oh my God, isn't that the scary kid from school? What is he doing here? Oh my God, do you think he is researching on how to do the perfect homicide? I mean, why else would he be in a library?" Minami couldn't help but shake her head at her friends antics. Though, she had to admit that she was a bit curious, as to what the boy would be reading.

However, she decided it was best to leave the boy alone. "Guys, why don't we go to get something to eat? I'm starving..." Quickly, they all nodded and started to head out of the library. Before leaving, Minami decided to direct one lasst glance at the boy but when she looked back, he wasn't there anymore. 'Hm...'

---Time Skip: Next Day---

Minami was walking down the road towards the library. Her brown hair swayed with the breeze. Her bangs framing her face, her glasses shielding her brown eyes from any particles blowing in the wind. The day before, she had a great time with her friends but she needed to get some time away from their exuberant antics. In other words, even her needed some peace and quiet and what better place than the library.

Once she arrived at the library, she made her way inside and towards the mythology section. However, she suddenly halted to a stop. On the same spot from the day before, was the same 'scary' looking boy. Though, she didn't actually didn't see what was so scary about him. He just look like any other boy who likes to read. Still a bit curious and to confirm if he was scary as she heard he was, she decided to approach him. She walked to were he was and took a sit across from him and just stared. After some time, she decided to talk. "To be quite honest and not to offend you or anything, but I don't see what it is so scary about you?" She said this with a sincere tone of curiosity, as her brown eyes kept staring at him.
 
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The day was hotter than usual as Satoru walked down the sidewalk with his grey hoodie on, regardless if he was sweaty or not. His gaze remained glued to the ground for his own benefit: to avoid questions he knew strangers would ask, as they always have. Questions regarding his eyepatch over his left eye. It's not like it was any of their business anyway, so he simply ignored them and left the scene rather casually. This often pissed others off, but what was he to care?

He had his own problems.

Satoru was closing the gap between himself and the library as he finally entered, now safe and sound from all the pesky bystanders who would eventually build up the courage to interrogate him on his missing eye. He looked around with his only good eye, which was icey blue, and saw that hardly anyone was there. And those who were could care less about him, as their eyes were glued to their books, laptops, phones, or their love interest sitting at a distance.

He sluggishly walked over to one of the bookshelves, skimming it for a moment before finally grabbing a book out, a rather large hard-cover one which was the color of Earth. Satoru opened it and began to read.

He only got through about ten pages when he heard the doors open, seeing a group of girls walk in. Better yet, they were girls from his school. He watched them with his eye, hearing them whisper inaudible words to each other as they glanced over at him. He knew they were discussing him, and sighed.

As they began to leave, he closed his book and returned it to the shelf, walking over to the back of the library to find something else to read.

---

The next day, Satoru made sure to come to the library early this time, so he could get some more reading in before he had to go back home. Wearing his grey hoodie as usual, just in case a student or stranger came up to him, he could easily cover his head with his hood to avoid unwanted conversation.

He was there for about thirty minutes until he finally heard the doors open once more. Looking up to see who had entered, he saw it was one of the girls from yesterday, huffing to himself a bit before returning his half-gaze to his book, placing a couple fingers over his eyepatch to rub the skin under it, as it had still managed to become itchy despite the lack of optics there.

Suddenly, he heard the girl approaching, making sure to bury his face in his book this time to make it clear he didn't want to talk.
But of course, after she had sat down and stared at him for moments on end, he couldn't help but look up from his book and flash a bored gaze over to her.

What kind of "question" was that?

He glared at her for a few moments, icey gaze just as cold as it had seemed to be, and he simply said nothing. However, he did point at his eyepatch to answer her question. Satoru didn't know why either, but he assumed it was the "accessory" that scared others away. After all, he had only been going to this girl's school for four years, so the other students didn't exactly know what was going on with his life. He had been homeschooled for most of his childhood, after all.

And if he was lucky, they weren't ever going to know.
 
She was a bit surprised that he actually answered her, even if the answer was just a finger to his eye patch. A small frown appeared on her face, though. How could her friends be scared of him just because of an accesory covering one of his eyes? Isn't that kind of discriminating? She placed an elbow on the table and her head on said hand, while staring at him still.

Minami took her time for the first time, to actually look at the boy in front of her. His short, black hair was tossed around but it didn't look messy at all. The only eye she could see was an icey blue that made her involunteraly shiver. She suddenly felt cold, but shaking the feeling away she let out a sigh of frustration. How could people be so judgemental? After some time of just thinking to herself she got bored. However, she was still curious about him. "Are you usually this quiet?" She asked just to start a conversation again. She was not going to be intimidated by his dismissive nature or cold demeanor.
 
Satoru shifted his gaze back to the book he was reading, quietly flipping the pages as he read thoroughly through this book that seemed much more interesting to him than the girl. He had completely drowned out her breathing, ignoring the fact that she was blankly staring at him.
After a while, he kinda just.. forgot she was there.

Until another stupid question was emitted from her vocals.

Satoru sighed and suddenly closed his book, flashing an irritated look over to the brown-haired girl. He had to admit, she was somewhat attractive, but quite frankly.. he wasn't looking for a friend, let alone a love interest.
After a moment of glaring, he rose from the table, book in hand, and walked over to the shelf to put it away. Yet again ignoring the girl if she decided to protest his actions, looking for another book that he could immerse himself in so deeply that she'd have no other choice than to leave him alone.
 
Manami didn't know if she should feel angry or sad. Frowning, she decided to stop asking him any questions. However, instead of being discouraged she told heself she was not going to give up. If she has to come to the library everyday and just sit next to him quietly, she would. Besides, she was quite stubborn herself and he did intrigued her.

Getting up from her sit, she decided to look for a book of her own. At first, she was going to get a book on Norse Mythology but instead decided to go and look for a good mystery novel, instead. Looking through many novels, she decided for a classic. Grabbing The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, she headed back and sat on the same spot. If he didn't want to talk, then she would at least be a reading companion. Besides, she still held the faith that he would talk to her. But for now, she would just wait and enjoy the peace and quiet atmosphere, the library brought to her mind.
 
Satoru, on the other hand, took a bit more time to find his book. After a while of searching, he finally picked out an old dusty book called The Running Man by Stephen King. He flipped through the first few pages while walking back to the table, then looked up to make sure he wouldn't fall over anything, bu-- what was this?
He stopped and furrowed a brow over to the girl who started to read a book as well.

He had to admit, he was a bit shocked at this sighting. Out of all things, he never expected her to be the bookworm type. Then again, no one expected him to like books either, so he let it slide and sat back down in front of her.

Satoru then buried his face in his book, though he was quite distracted at how immersed this girl was in her book.. looking up at her every few paragraphs.
Quite frankly, it was starting to bother him.

Satoru set his book down and frowned. "Don't you have anything better to do?" his voice was still rather quiet, but remained stern.
 
To say that Minami was immersed in her book was an understatement. She was completely out of it. Though, it didn't surprised her since it was a habit of her, to get so into a book that she would forget about her surroundings. Many of her classmates would look surprised, when she tells them that she loves to spend most of her time after-school in the library. However, she told that just because she was cheerful and silly most of the time; that didn't meant doesn't like a bit of peace and quiet on extremely stressful days. And frankly, the library provided her with these settings when she needed them.

Though, when she heard the boy's question, she couldn't help but to look up at him and stare at him. She was quite shocked that he was the one asking a question this time around. I mean it shouldn't, since that was her goal, but to accomplish it so quickly, she almost couldn't hold the big grin that soon started to appear on her face. However, she decided to not let him know how happy it made her that he was the one inquiring this time.

She knew that it wasn't like he was trying to talk to her as much as just wanting to know why hadn't she left already but, beggars can't be choosers. Blinking owlishly at him, she tilted her face in a confused fashion while trying to hold the grin that was trying to escape from her lips. "In all honesty, no. Frankly, I am enjoying the quiet and peaceful environment of this library. Besides, I came here to escape from my exuberant friends..." Her last statement was more of a whisper to herself than to him, but it was still loud enough for him to hear it. Shrugging, she went back to her book and continued to read.
 
The boy simply furrowed his brow once again, not saying a word to her. Surely he figured she wasn't lying, but the simple fact that she was around him made him a bit perplexed, and not in a good way.
He was not going to let her get to him, however. So Satoru simply sighed and returned to reading his book, paying no more attention to her. His expression even changed to a neutral one upon looking through the pages.

He avoided conversation with her for the time being, even getting through twenty minutes without distractions.
After this amount of time had passed, he could be seen looking down into his lap for a few seconds, presumably at his phone. Then, he closed his book and stood, taking the book back to the shelf.

Instead of grabbing another, he stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and leisurely started to walk towards the entrance, ever-so-slowly, off in his own world.
Again, completely ignoring the other girl. But he wasn't leaving because of her. Sure, he didn't enjoy her company but he would tolerate it.

Satoru just had his own things to attend to.
 
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Minami watched the boy as he left, releasing a sigh of disappointment. However, she wasn't disappointed with him, but with herself. She wanted to at least get a name. Though, she didn't gave her name either, so maybe it was her fault. But shaking the feeling away, she stood up and placed the book back on its shelf. Next time surely, she held a determined look on her face. Surely, next time she would get him to reveal at least his name. She couldn't help but smile, imagining what would his reaction be to see her from now on at the library. She would not let intimidation get to her, she would get the mysterious boy to open up whether he likes it or not. She was a stubborn girl she would not fail. That was one of her traits that her friends would always complain about, whenever she would get an idea of something she wanted to do, there was nothing they could do to stop her or change her mind.

Besides, whenever something got her attention she would give all of her time to accomplish whatever she held in store for it. This boy was mysterious but at the same held a cold aura that she wanted to warm up, at least a bit. I mean, everyone needs at least a friend to help them if they ever need help, and she was set on becoming this boy's friend even if she had to work extra, extra hard on it. Smiling, she started to head out of the library as well. Walking out, she headed to one of the small cafes on the neighborhood and ordered a french vanilla latte. After ordering, she sat down and lost herself in her thoughts until her friends found her sitting there. However, she didn't pay any attention to what they were saying. After hanging out with them for a bit, she decided to head home and get a good night sleep.

-----------------

The next day she had arrived at the library early. The boy was not there yet, so she decided to walk around the bookshelves in order to find something to read. Grabbing several crime and mystery novels, she headed back towards the same spot from the day before and started to read one of the books. She tried to stay focused on her surroundings but due to her habit, she quickly started to lose sense of where she was and got immersed in the story; forgetting why was she there or who was she waiting for. All that mattered was the characters, the story and what would happened next. Soon, she completely lost track of everything around her, not even hearing when the door opened announcing the arrival of another person.
 
Satoru walked down the sidewalk, neutral look on his face. His hands remained in his pockets as always, though the only thing different about him were his clothes. He wore regular dark jeans with white shoes and a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, indicating he was a normal human who got hot when wearing layers in high temperatures.

He ignored other passersby as they stared at his eyepatch when he walked passed, occasionally huffing as he heard some people whisper about it when he past them completely.
Oh well. Who needs them?

In fact, he didn't need anyone. Not his parents, not his brothers. Yeah, they were nice to have around sometimes, but he was the black sheep of the family.

He erased those thoughts upon entering the library, slowly pushing the door open. He looked around to see few people there, reading quietly and the likes, until his eyes fell upon the girl he had seen yesterday. And very slowly did his expression fade into a bored one. Satoru sighed and walked over to one of the bookshelves, almost immediately finding a book he'd like to read.

Though he still wasn't going to let this girl win.. that was his usual table. And he liked sitting there. So casually, he approached and sat in front of her once again, paying no attention to her. The book he was reading was called Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes; it seemed as if he'd read it before, as he had already flipped to a page in the middle of the book.

He couldn't help but look up at the girl to see what book she was reading, if she had hardly noticed him walk in. And his face lit up for a split-second; not long enough for her to catch it.
"Good choice," he quietly stated in his monotonous tone, referring to the book she was reading before glancing back down at his own book.
 
Minami couldn't help but give a startled gasp. She was so immersed in her book, that she didn't notice him until he spoke. However, she had to admit that Tales of Mystery & Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe was quite the literature. It had quite different genres in one book which was greatly appreciated. However, it still bothered her that she hadn't notice him come in or more specifically, his reaction at seeing her there, again. Still, she heard his compliment, -that how she was going to take his comment- on her taste in books. This made her beam a smile in his direction because even if it was in a monotone voice, she was still making progress.

She couldn't help but also notice his choice in clothes. It was a casual look but at the same time comfortable, very different from his usual attire, though she could understand. It had been hot lately, that's why she decided to wear something similar. She wore a white t-shirt with fitted cargo pants that reach her just a bit above her knees and black vans; also, her brown hair was tucked in a messy braid. It was different from her usual girly appearance but it was indeed, a hot day.

Going back to her book, she replied to his compliment with one of her own. "Thank you. You have great taste in literacy as well. I read that book and it made me reflect in so many ways. I really like it." She continued to read her book, as a peaceful silence fell over them. Well, at least it was peaceful to her, she didn't know if it was the same for him.
 
He had already returned to his original expression, though not completely immersed in his book this time; not to say he was distracted by her. He was distracted by his own problems, and had many.
Which was most likely why he strayed away from others and found his peace in the library. Who wouldn't find peace here?

It was actually his escape.

Satoru nodded at her compliment but never looked at her, instead, he smirked. "I know."
Indeed, he did know he had a good taste in books. Kinda of arrogant.
 
Minami couldn't help but stare at him in shock. Soon, a huge grin could be seen on her face and she kept staring at him. He smirked, no frown, no poker-face, but an actual smirk. To her this was major progress, even if it was an arrogant smirk. She succeeded in making him show another emotion apart from his usual bored or cold look.

She didn't cared if it made him uncomfortable but she just kept her huge grin on her face. 'A smirk...Yes!' She would get him to open up little by little, without him noticing. However, he indeed was quite arrogant. "Just don't let it go to your head." With that said she returned to her reading, though the grin that slowly turn to just a smile, was still on her face.
 
Little did she know, Satoru wasn't smirking to please her. He was actually trying to get her to move away, sort of involuntarily. He knew people didn't really like arrogant or vain people, and he was quite arrogant when it came to his passion: books.
He was quite surprised when she didn't budge, simply looking up from his book with the same cold look as she grinned.

He rested his elbow on the table and sighed, resting his cheek in his hand before boredly flipping through the pages, not really reading them. He somehow lost interest in the book. Or maybe she was just distracting him.

"You look like a fool when you smile like that," Satoru suddenly said before rising from the table, not bothering to put the book away. Instead, he stretched and walked over to the book shelves once again. He reached up on the top shelf to pull out a random book, flipping through the pages to see what it was about. Shrugging, he took it anyway and went back to his seat.

"You should be with your friends, checking out cool guys and laughing like an idiot."
 
Minami didn't look up at him, however her smile threatened to widen at his last statement. Was that the best he could come up with? She have heard those words before, mostly from her friends since she tends to act sillier when in their company. She was not going to be discouraged by his cold behavior or looks. However, his last statement did caught her a bit by surprise.

"You should be with your friends, checking out cool guys and laughing like an idiot."

"Does he really think I spend all my time with my friends? He definitely doesn't know them." Shaking those thoughts away, she looked up at him from her book, and raised an eyebrow. "Who says I can't check out cool guys on my own?...Anyways, I spend most of my weekends with them and trust me, after a few days with those girls I really need the peace and quiet." Without elaborating more, she went back to her reading. However, before she could forget she said one more thing, her lips forming a small smile once again. "Besides, I don't check out cool guys and laugh like an idiot. I asked, and is not something they find attractive."
 
Satoru sighed as her grin only grew wider. Shame. He was expecting her to leave, really. Most people did leave when he made those types of comments. But oh well, it's not like he could do anything about it.
He could ask her to leave him alone, but he wasn't that type of person. Besides, he didn't own the library, so he had no authority over her whatsoever.

He boredly flipped through the pages of his current book and huffed. "You're right on that one."
And so he shut up, wondering why he was even talking to this girl, even though how little it was.

Satoru let the silence overcome their area for about ten minutes, until he closed the book and set it aside. With a loud sigh, he set his head on the table and buried his face in his arms, rather tiredly.
And suddenly, his stomach gurgled rather loudly.
 
Minami quickly looked up from her book at the sudden of a stomach gurgling. She blinked a few times while staring at his head that was buried in his arms. "Is he hungry?"

Looking at the clock, she noticed that it was almost lunch time, however seeing that he wasn't moving to get something to eat or anything, she let a small frown appear on her face. "Wasn't that his stomach?"

Using this as an opportunity, she placed the book in her hands on the table and proceeded to ask him. "Are you hungry? Because, if you are I know a small cafe a few blocks away. Their food is very nice..." She didn't to pressure him or anything but trying to persuaded him, she offered to pay for both of their meals, since she was getting a bit hungry herself. "I could pay for both of us, if you want of course..." She said it in an uncertain tone, since she didn't want to offend him or anything. Still, she waited for his reply, patiently.
 
As she began to speak, he slowly lifted his head, though his half-glare turned colder than ever. All he did was stare, saying nothing.
Though after a few seconds, which seemed liked hours, he sighed and sat up in his chair, looking around. And finally he stood up from the table and his cold gaze turned into a bored one.

"I can pay for myself, thank you."
His tone was not stern, but it was rather firm instead. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he started to walk towards the entrance with confidence, but stopped by the edge of the table, and sighed heavily. "I.. don't know where I'm going.."

Satoru clenched his fists in his pockets. Now, he had to allow her to come.
 
Minami lips formed into a small smile. Even if it was a bit forced since he had no choice, he still allowed her to accompany him. Quickly, she placed all the books neatly in a pile so the librarian wouldn't complain about a mess, and started to lead the way. "Remember Mimi, baby steps..."

She lead him to the usual cafe she visits every afternoon. It wasn't a place most teens usually visit, since they tend to go for places more loud and 'wild'. That's why she didn't spend time with her friends on week days, since they are more inclined to those places, but not her. She would go on weekends just because her friends would complain about not spending time with them.

The little shop had a vintage feel to it; beige color walls, wooded benches and tables, and the soft playing music. It was really a relaxing place on her part, though she didn't know if the boy following, would like it. However, the food really was delicious and if he didn't like it, then he really was not normal. Once the boy at the front saw her, he smile and shouted to Minami if she would like the usual. "Same thing today, Mimi?" Minami nodded but then motioned towards Satoru. "Yeah Keicho, I'll get the usual. Him on the other hand has not been to this place before, so bring a menu." She kept walking towards her favorite spot. A small bench and table, that were close to the window.

As soon as they sat down, she saw Keisho quickly moving towards their table. He held a small notepad, a pencil and under his arm, the menu. Once in front of them, he placed the menu in front of the boy while giving him a cold look. Keisho have always had a small crush on Minami, but she was a bit dense when it comes to boys liking her. That's why he was giving the boy in front of him such a cold look. However, Keisho must have dismissed the boy as threat because he stopped staring and quickly, turned towards Minami with a huge grin.

"Thanks Mimi, if it weren't for you bringing new customers, me and my mom wouldn't be able to hold on to this business for much longer." Minami couldn't help but roll her eyes at the use of her childhood nickname. However, she still smile at Keisho since he was a good friend. "No problem, Keisho. I really like this place and Hisa-san is such a nice lady, that's why I try helping you guys out in anyway."

Keisho nodded and then turned back towards Satoru. "What would you like, uhm....?" Keisho waited for the boy to give his name with a 'friendly' smile. Minami leaned a bit closer, a curious look on her face. "This is it..."
 
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Satoru walked a little bit behind her, just to get it clear through her head that he had little interest in befriending her. He was just hungry, and would much rather go eat somewhere in town that go home. There was nothing wrong with his home, it was just about three miles away, and he was planning on returning to the library. The cafe would be a better place to eat lunch.

As they walked in the cafe and found a table, he looked around and observed the people eating there. There were a lot of young people, teenagers even, including the employees as he saw a boy approaching them, and immediately started pointed out his flaws.
Truthfully, people would think Satoru assumed he was lower than everyone.

But that wasn't the case. The introverted guy was pretty arrogant when it came to certain things, but he wasn't a jerk about it if you actually got to know him. That was something very little attempted to do.

As Keisho arrived, he folded his arms and leaned back in his seat, trying to avoid eye contact, but it was kind of hard since Keisho had gave him a cold glare, no matter how short-lived it was. This caused Satoru to snort a bit, and he looked down at the table in attempt to hide his eyepatch.
It somehow made him insecure in certain situations.

He listened to their conversation until finally, Keisho asked him his name. Reluctantly, he replied. "Satoru Yokoyama.. and I'll just have whatever she is having."
 
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